The pumps and surrounding environment at a modern gas station are illuminated by banks of high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, such as mercury vapor lamps, metal halide lamps, and high pressure lamps. These lamps have high operating power requirements in addition to a large instant power draw on start-up. Utilities charge a usage fee for electricity on a large start up. Consequently, it is very costly to operate the outdoor lighting at gas stations and similar retail establishments. When lights are left on during the day, or turned on before natural light is low, costs are further increased. Large (6'.times.7'), fully automatic systems which perform some of these functions are available. However, the programming required to set up such a system is a disadvantage. In addition, particularly in gas stations having only a booth for an attendant, a system of such a size is too large to be installed in the very limited amount of space available.
There is therefore a need for an automatic lighting controller which cycles in one or several circuits at a time instead of all the lighting circuits at once. There is also a need for an automatic system which turns on nighttime lighting and turns off the lights without the need for action by an attendant.
There is a further need for such a system which is very small in size and, further, which requires very simple programming and service.